I did know that Bunny was in foal. She appeared to be. Had no idea when exactly she was due. I wasn’t watching close enough.

She had already been moved up to the blue panel pens with Toro, mainly to keep him happy. On this Thursday morning as I rounded the corner of the barn, I realized she looked different. Had the foal shifted? As I opened the gate, a clang took my attention away from her.

Wow, there was a pretty little silver foal with it’s leg banging the bottom of the panel. Bunny’s? Really? I turned & studied her frame & watched as a cramp seemed to pass over her abdomen. Turning back to the silver foal, it was laying between the fence and the barn, in the neat triangle created when we’d put up the fence that we had. I was dumbstruck. I really, truly hadn’t expected her to foal for a while. I sure hadn’t noticed her bagging up…

I was able to reach through the fence, move the foal closer and then pulled it under the panel. I rolled it over – a colt. He was still damp around the ears and on his top side, now with sand sticking to him. He had some meconium stuck to his bum, so I knew he had nursed at least once. I gave him a hand – he stood and as I touched him – he bounced up and down… Bunny, his dam, gave an anxious whicker (GOOD girl!), but didn’t get too close. Bunny isn’t the easiest to catch pony and when i moved towards her with the colt in front of me doing a stilted walk, she spun away and took off for the other side of the pen.

Well, this could be a problem. I picked up the colt – all of 20 lbs, maybe – and followed her. She trembled in the corner she’d put herself in, then turned towards us. She touched him with her muzzle and I set him down again. Now Toro was headed our way. When I headed him off, shoo-ing him away, the colt turned and followed me and Bunny split the other way. Oh, boy.

Well, I scooped him up again and headed for Bunny a 2nd time. This time, I balanced him and caught her by her collar. Got them to the gate into the smaller pen. Shoved the colt in and got Bunny in as well. Then I caught up Chylly and removed her from the smaller pen, crossing the larger pen. As we exited the 2nd gate, I grabbed a lead rope and then led her over to the paddock that used to belong to the boys. I went ahead and tucked her in with the “Junior” mares (only 2 truly Juniors now). I was able to catch Shamrock and I led her back to the barn and she went into the bigger blue panel paddock with Toro.

That chore taken care of, I then went back to studying Bunny. Caught & tied her up so that the little fella could nurse. O MY, he is soooo tiny!!!! He not only can walk under the part of her belly that is still enlarged from carrying him, but he had to really stretch up to nurse. Looked like a little goat, he did. Touched him and he hopped up and down. Looked to Bunny and told her “your little man sure does like hoppin’ up and down”. Is he gonna be a little Hopper? (the name stuck and became both his barn name and part of his registered name)